Harold Herbert Elliott (1890–1968) was a Canadian

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

Biography

The parents of Harold Hebert Elliott were pioneers in

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, and Elliott was the eldest of ten children.Wilkins, 6 September 1972. Before arriving in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in 1920, Elliot was variously a homesteader in Fielding,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

,Untitled (obituary), 18 Sep 1968. a school-teacher , a prospector and a poet. He ran a pickle-manufacturing business for 10 years. His first marriage had resulted in two children, and in 1927 Elliott married again, to Elizabeth West Henderson. He began painting in 1948, as recommended by his doctor following a heart failure. Elliott was often described as eccentric. In order to evoke the creative spirit, he liked to wear long gypsy-like robes."Artist Harold Elliott of way-out fame dies", 30 Aug 1968. He sometimes adopted personae of his own creation, or imaginatively emulated idols such as

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

, and

Emily Carr Emily Carr (or M. Emily Carr as she sometimes signed her work) (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist and writer who was inspired by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the painters in Canada to ado ...

. His asking price for his works was extremely high, and he completely refused to part with some pieces. Elliott claimed to have painted over 5000 pictures. His paintings are often signed "Van Volkingburgh", after his mother's family name." In 1964, three of his paintings were featured in ''New Talents B.C.'' at the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

.Stoffman, 28 May 1964.Haraldsson, Winter 1987. Elliott donated much of his art collection, and many of his own works, to the J. A. Victor David museum located in his hometown of Killarney.

Style

Most often constructed on cardboard, his paintings are generally small. In Elliott's early work, he used materials like shoe polish and red ink, overlaid with thick varnish in order to achieve an effect like the old masters.Dolman, 6 April 1963. He preferred to concentrate on one colour at a time. His landscapes typically have wandering, vaguely human figures, with an overall sense of approaching menace. A melancholy mood is commonly established by the sun never really breaking through the clouds. Circular shapes frequently recur. Another motif is triangulation, whereby a single figure observes two others from a distance. Later paintings have faceless figures with large blank eyes.

Doris Shadbolt Doris Shadbolt, née Meisel LL. D. D.F.A. (November 28, 1918 – December 22, 2003) was an art historian, author, curator, cultural bureaucrat, educator and philanthropist who had an important impact on the development of Canadian art and cult ...

remarked that Elliott "is a kind of visionary painter. His work is completely apart from the historical stream of art," a summation echoed by

David Watmough David Arthur Watmough (August 17, 1926 – August 4, 2017) was a Canadian playwright, short story writer and novelist. Watmough was born in London, England, and attended King's College London. He has worked as a reporter (the Cornish Guardian, a ' ...

.Watmough, 9 Jan 1965. His paintings have an overall "unlearned" aspect, anticipating later trends.

Solo exhibitions

*''Painting Against Time'', Or Gallery, Vancouver, 1987 *Danish Art Gallery, Vancouver, 1965

Group exhibitions

*''New Talents BC'', Vancouver Art Gallery, 1964. *Seattle Art Museum, 1961–1963 *British Columbia Artists Annual Exhibitions, Vancouver Art Gallery, 1952–1954, 1957, 1961–1963, 1965

Collections

Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park on Cap ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Harold 1890 births 1968 deaths Artists from Manitoba Artists from British Columbia 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters Surrealist artists Expressionist painters 20th-century Canadian male artists